A Cracked Frosted Mind
by Angelicat2
Summary: Jack is a Guardian now. He has a family...some believers too. Everything should be fine now, right? But three hundred years is a long time to gather doubts, pains, and memories. Now Jack's mind is swirling with all of them. To make it worse, a dark presence is taking over and secrets will be spilled; ones that none of the Guardians knew about. Story formerly as: Cracks in the Ice
1. Mixed Thoughts

**I don't own Rise of the Guardians! Enjoy!**

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It was times like this that he wasn't so enthusiastic about having a family...

Don't get him wrong, he loved the attention even though he would never say it out loud, but sometimes he wished they would give him his own privacy. After all, he had left to his own devices for three hundred years. Not being seen or believed in. No one even stopped to say hello to him...so he got used to the absence of touch.

He got used to the pain of not coming in contact with anyone, and he even got used to the pain from the spirits who beat him when he wasn't in the right area as he controlled winter. It's sad that he had been more willing to get yelled at or insulted or even smacked if it meant that someone would notice him.

It's not that he didn't appreciate his adopted family...What with North being the fatherly figure in his life, Tooth being the over protective mother, Sandy being the wise uncle-brotherlyish one, and Bunny being the concerned sibling. He loved it, in fact!

But sometimes they tended to forget that he had been alone for three hundred years. They ambushed him with hugs and other physical touchings that he attempted to resist flinching at. All he was used to for touch was getting whacked or kicked. No one seemed to notice his awkward discomfort at that.

Anyways...

The Guardians were having a meeting again. Everyone had arrived and they were all in the meeting room that they had decided to use after they had said they would have meetings. They said the meetings were so they would know if something was happening like Pitch gathering nightmares again, but Jack knew it was so they could see him every month.

As much as he hated to admit it, Jack didn't take very good care of himself. He barely ate(even though immortals don't need to eat or sleep) which explained the toothpick figure that he had. He normally was too engaged with bringing joy to children to take care of the many wounds that he got whether from hitting a tree while in flight or getting attacked by the other spirits.

¨Jack?¨ a voice cut through his distracted thoughts like a knife melting butter.

¨Hm,¨ Jack glanced around to see that the other four were staring at him worriedly, ¨Huh?¨

¨We were asking if ya were ok,¨ Bunny, the Easter bunny, tipped his furry head to the side, ¨Ya been staring at the table from a while now, mate.¨

¨Uh...¨ Jack tried to focus through the hazy thoughts in his head.

_They don't care...They never did and they never will._

_They left you alone for THREE HUNDRED YEARS!_

_They don't notice your pain, even now...And they wouldn't care if they had noticed anyways._

¨I'm fine,¨ his silvery white hair hide most of his expression, as he had his head tilted downwards, from being seen by the rest of them.

¨Are you sure?¨ they continued as Sandy looked thoughtfully at him.

¨Guys,¨ Jack threw a smile on his face so they won't suspect anything wrong, ¨I'm fine.¨

¨Okay,¨ North, as known as Santa Claus to some, dragged the word out as he continued, ¨That concludes ze meeting. Now ve sit 'round and have eggnog, da?¨

They all moved to grab some mugs that were filled with whitish stuff when Jack scooted his chair away with a scraping noise that everyone paused mid-sip. He strolled to the edge of the open window where he sat down and stared gloomily outside.

_Face it! They are going to abandon you as soon as they don't see you as useful._

_Besides, you're too childish...You know that they all just want you to grow up!_

_The only reason that they deal with you is because Man in Moon is forcing them to. If he hadn't stated that you're a 'Guardian' then they would have ignored you for even longer. Maybe 100 years, maybe another 300 years, or never._

Jack came out of his trance to reach to the side with his left hand only to grasp thin air. Jumping up in panic, he quickly spotted his staff being waved around in the air by a bunny.

¨Come and get it,¨ Bunny taunted him by waving it in the air once again, ¨But ah bet ya are too slow ta catch me!¨

¨Kangaroo.¨ the white-haired boy leaped down from the window sill and started walking towards the rabbit, ¨Please don't.¨

¨Ya gonna have ta get me first,¨ after he said that, he bolted for the door on all fours. Jack chased him through the doorway, out into the workshop where all of the yetis were making toys. They barely paused in their work when the two ran by, instead they grumbled in yeti language and got back to the toys like nothing had happened.

As the two ran around the massive maze that was North's home, they somehow ended up in an almost empty room. Bunny raised his arm that held the staff in the air so that the winter spirit couldn't reach it.

¨If ya want your stick,¨ He brought it down, ¨Ya got ta grab it.¨

¨It's a staff!¨ Jack shouted angrily before trying to steal it back, ¨And can we please not do this today?¨

¨Why?¨ Green eyes met ice blue, ¨Is little Jackie tired?¨

_See...he thinks that you are weak! 'Is little Jackie tired?' Show him who's going to be tired..._

"Bunny," Jack almost growled at him in a wolf-like way before he slammed head first into the giant rabbit. Both of them went sliding across the room to land in a jumbled mess of hands, legs, and paws. Jack's staff flew through the air to tumble to a stop at the huge window that was in the room for no real reason.

Before the spirit could even think, much less react, Bunny hopped up and grabbed the staff. He seemed about ready to bring it to the fallen teen when he actually opened the window. There was a long drop into a huge glacier for ice at the bottom.

"Bunny," Jack's voice trailed off before he painfully stood up, "Give it back."

"Not 'til ya say sorry for burying mah Warren in snow." Bunny held the long staff out the window, "It took a whole day to thaw."

_He wants you to say sorry when it's him who should be sorry. Holding your staff like that. If it falls, it will snap and they don't even know that it's connected to you. It snaps, you snap. Now what are you going to do about it?_

"I already said sorry!" Jack yelled out in anger and frustration.

"Sure ya did," Bunny pretended to drop the staff but he actually hid it behind his back. Jack sprinted forward to find it while Bunny just leaned against the wall while grinning.

"Bunny..." at this time, tears started to collect on his crystal blue eyes and he slid down onto the floor. Bunny finally began noticing that Jack wasn't doing what he normally would have done, so he carefully moved to sit right next to him.

"Oi," he gently leaned towards the teen while revealing the staff that he had hidden, "Ah have ya staff! It's right here!"

_You're not like them. None of them died to become Guardians. They just automatically got the job to protect the children. What did you get? You died trying to protect your baby sister, and then you wandered around blindly for three hundred years, not knowing what was right and what was wrong. Just because no one cared to tell you about anything._

"Frostbite," Bunny carefully nudged him, "Are ya in there?"

_They think that your useless. Worthless. See? Bunny came so close to tossing your staff. The next thing you know, they be attempting to toss you away like you're trash. It's pointless. Your immortal life is pointless._

"Pointless," Jack muttered under his breath while resting his head on his knees.

"What are ya talking about, Frostbite?" Bunny's ear twitched as he tried to listen to what was being said.

**_It's your fault!_**

**_You only kill._**

**_Why did you do it? Why did you sink the Titanic?_**

**_You stupid, worthless brat! Do you not know anything?_**

**_Of course, he doesn't know anything, he's too childish!_**

**_You were with Pitch?_**

**_You don't care! You're heart is as cold as your blizzards that freeze the innocent people who try to move through them._**

**_We should never have trusted ya!_**

**_What have you done?_**

**_They don't believe in you._**

**_Who's Jack Frost? No one, it's just an expression._**

Words swirled around in his head from all the hurtful things that had been said to him since he was 'born', and he couldn't focus on anything else.

"Frostbite?" this time, Bunny acted very much more worried then he had been before. He leaned the staff so that it was right next to Jack when he looked up. But that never really happened...

Jack grabbed his ears as if he were hearing a loud noise that he didn't want to hear, and he began rocking back and forth. Icy cold tears slipped down his cheeks leaving trails of ice behind.

"Make them stop!" he scratched at them again, "Make it stop!"

"Make what stop?"

_He doesn't understand. He doesn't understand the pain that you went through when you were invisible. He was invisible for less than twelve hours and he barely could stand it! He doesn't understand. He doesn't care. He never has and he never will. He almost hit you when Easter was ruined...He still blames you for that._

"Jack?" Bunny's voice drifted through the noise of his head, "Jack!"

"What?" Jack quietly choked out.

"What's wrong?" the pooka leaned over the whisper to him so he could hear what he would say, "Jackie, what's going on?"

_He doesn't want you to be a Guardian. None of them do. They think you're weak, and breaking down in front of Bunny is only showing that. If you don't rein in your emotions, there'll be another blizzard and they'll kick you out._

"Doesn't...Guardian...weak," Jack mumbled out before looking up at Bunny. His eyes were shiny and he looked like a train wreck. He probably hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and he acted like he was a little delirious. He stumbled to his feet and snatched up his staff before Bunny could react. Almost tripping over his own feet, he stood right by the window before glancing back at the rabbit.

"Jack," Bunny didn't move a muscle as he was too afraid that he would leave if he did, "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere," he stepped closer to the window before sighing, "Away from here."

Before Bunny could say anything, Jack leaned over and fell out of the room. Bunny ran to the open hole to see that Jack was flying away from North's place heading to the south.

"Jack," he started for the door so he could talk to North and the others that were still there, "What's going on?"

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**There we go! I'm planning on making at least another chapter for this story so hang on. All mistakes are mine! I didn't know, but I think Bunny is also called a pooka so if he's not...Oops! Please review.**

**~Angelicat2~**


	2. Behind the Mask

He was tired of it.

Tired of the hurtful words. Tired of being called a chaotic trickster...He didn't mean to be 'annoying'. He just didn't know what was right and what was wrong. He played tricks to keep himself busy because it was BORING with no one else to talk to. It was not his fault that no one paid attention to him! He had attempted to get someone to notice him. Tried to get anyone to notice. Sneaking into North's place, talking to the baby tooths when they were doing their job, using the dream sand so Sandy would see that an immortal was using it, and causing blizzards on Bunny's holiday(sadly).

Why did no one notice him? He didn't know. He had run across North on Christmas a few times. The first time, he had been outside looking in through the window that had began to frost(**pun time!**) over. North had appeared from the fireplace and had placed the presents under the tree before disappearing up the chimney again.

The thing that really had bugged him, still did bug him, was that they all must have known about him. North had said that he was on the naughty list...How did he get on the list anyway? Tooth had gone into a frenzy when she saw his 'white as snow' smile and had stated that her fairies had mentioned him. Sandy must have noticed that he wasn't a child falling asleep with the dreams. And Bunny had only taken the word of the other spirits who had hated him...

Most importantly, he was tired of putting up a smile. As weird as that sounded, he really didn't like. He loved being happy, and he was easily excited. He liked spreading winter and starting snowball fights with children(even if they couldn't see or hear him). But he was tired of it.

He used smiles and jokes to hide the pain.

He used sarcasm to get away from his depressed thoughts

So now was he was in the middle of nowhere. He was leaning against the gray, rocky wall of the crevice that Pitch had thrown him into after his staff was snapped in half. Only this time, Baby Tooth wasn't with him and his staff wasn't broken.

His hands were stuffed into the pocket of his frosted blue sweatshirt where his tooth canister was hidden. When Pitch had been defeated, all of them had went back to the workshop(he didn't have to sneak in this time) to celebrate. When Jack had held out his hand that had the container in it so that he could give it back, Tooth simply fluttered into the air and gently pushed his hand back to his chest.

"Keep it, Jack," her amethyst eyes wandered over his face before she gave him a small smile, "So that you can watch your memories whenever you want to."

His mind ran through the memories that he had just watched. Him playing with his little sister who he had promised to protect. His mom saying that he couldn't always have fun, and him proving her wrong by making everything a game. Telling stories to the children when the adults had an important meeting to attend. The Easters where they went searching for Bunny's eggs, and the Christmases where presents were sent from North. The dreams that involved snowball fights and staying up all night for the Tooth Fairy to come so he could see her.

But most importantly, he thought of saving his sister.

None of the others knew about that. They didn't know that he had died before becoming a spirit. They didn't know that he had been the child who had stopped believing in them, not because he grew up(he probably would never have grown up anyways), but because he had fallen through the ice on his lake.

That made him feel awkward around them after they had told their stories of how they all had become Guardians.

North was from Russia, and he had decided that he wanted to go northward to find somewhere to make wonders for children around the world who didn't get any gifts with their own family as they were poor so that they couldn't get them anything. He had found the barren landscape of the North Pole where he soon found the yetis nearby. Man in Moon saw this and offered to make him a Guardian so that he could continue. A little bit later, North had met the elves and had taken them in.

Tooth had been a beautiful woman from somewhere in Asia. She had worked with her parents who had been sort of doctors. They would diagnose illnesses, but they mostly stayed secluded. She had picked up a fascination for teeth when she was only ten-ish. When she was old enough to leave, she had adventured throughout Asia to study about teeth. Whoever she met, she got them to remember memories from their childhood that had been long forgotten. MiM had seen this so he requested to know if she would keep returning memories.

Sandy's story was not very known and there wasn't very much told. He was the oldest of the Guardians, and he had been a man of big dreams. He often went through his days sleeping and when he wasn't, he was helping others dream. Filled with imagination, he helped the people around him by helping solve their problems. When someone had a nightmare, he was always the first one to comfort that person. MiM noticed this so he asked and Sandy accepted.

Bunny's story was abit different. He was a Pooka who had originated from Australia and had loved to draw and paint. Him and the rest of the Pookas practically migrated around from place to place. But slowly, Pookas started to disappear from the group. Bunny after bunny disappeared from sight until it was just Bunny that was left. But despite all of that, Bunny held out hope that maybe they would come back. MiM offered him the chance to look for them and he became a Guardian. He had searched for a long time, but eventually had given up(but he still had hope) and he had started bringing hope in the form of chocolate eggs.

They then had asked him what his story was, but he was gone before they could question him. The wind had carried his voice back towards them so that he could hear his message.

"I gotta go," he shouted in a hurry, "England needs more snow. And Canada is in for more right now!"

He hadn't been lying... But that's why Jack felt left out whenever he was around them. He felt like an intruder. He felt like he didn't belong. None of the others had to die to become a spirit. None of them had saved someone before they left...

Anyways, he was leaning against the snowy wall with his his eyes tightly closed while just listening to the noise around him. Not thinking, just listening. The wind whistled wildly around the area and snowflakes were quickly falling in a white mass of sparkles. It was getting colder than it had been a while ago and Jack noticed this.

"Great," he sighed before he chuckled a humorless laugh, "Another blizzard...At least it's not Easter and I'm in Antarctica where this can't really reach anyone."

As the snow swirled around and icicles began to form, Jack still laid against the rock.

Even though he was a Guardian now, he still remembered the bad memories. Like the blizzard of '68.

_He didn't mean to cause a storm...It just happened. He had just gotten done spreading a light powdery touch of snow so that the eggs would look better when he felt a sudden spike of pain in his abdomen. He painfully fell to the ground as he had been flying through the air when it had started. When he had awoken, a full out blizzard was in progress. He had attempted to stop it or even slow it down, but more pain flared through his body when he tried._

_When the storm had finally quit, there was already multiple feet of snow piled around._

_"FROST!" A voice called out, cutting the silence in the air, "Ah swear Frost!"_

_Out hopped a huge bunny. That was the first time Jack had ever been acknowledged by anyone! Normally everyone just ignored him._

_"I'm gonna kill ya Frost!" He shouted before he saw Jack and starting marching up to him. Jack didn't move back because he had dealt with the other seasonal spirits beating him up all of the time. Spring sprites said he stayed too long into their season, Summer sprites just hated him because he controlled the opposite element, and Autumn sprites said that he ruined their hard work._

_¨Yeah, Cottontail?¨ Their faces were only a few inches apart and Jack had to tilt his gaze up to see Bunny's grass-green eyes._

_¨You caused this storm, didn't ya?¨ Bunny glared at Jack who just smirked while shrugging._

_¨Maybe I did,¨ he smiled even wider when he saw the look that Bunny was giving him, ¨Maybe I didn't.¨_

_¨Ah know ya did!¨ Bunny glared down at the teenager._

_¨Just because I'm a Winter spirit?¨ Jack faked a hurt expression while putting his hands over his heart, ¨That hurt! Someone else could have done it.¨_

_¨Stop messing around,¨ Bunny demanded harshly, ¨Ya might like being childish, but no one else does! Just GROW UP!¨_

_¨Yeah,¨ Jack just continued to smirk while leaning against his staff, ¨I would, but there's no FUN in that!¨_

_¨It's not about fun!¨ Bunny angrily yelled and took a step closer to Jack, ¨This day is about hope. A fresh beginning! And you just ruined it!¨_

_¨Wait,¨ Jack stared at him with confusion written on his face, ¨What's today?¨_

_¨Ya know!¨ The pooka shouted back._

_¨Oh yeah!¨ Jack looked like he knew what day it was until he suddenly gave a blank stare, ¨Nope...¨_

_¨How idiotic do ya have ta be ta not knew what day it is?¨ Emerald met sapphire in a glaring contest._

_¨Oh, I don't know,¨ Jack retorted with a calm voice, ¨Maybe because I never get to look at a calender! Or maybe because no one tells me!¨_

_¨Well,¨ the human-like rabbit didn't move, ¨Whose fault is that?¨_

_¨Mine...yours,¨ Jack grabbed his staff and laid it across his shoulders like a scarecrow would, ¨Who knows!¨_

_¨Enough Frost!¨ Bunny snatched up the staff before Jack could even think and held it in both of his hands, ¨Should I snap this in half?¨_

_¨NO!¨ Jack lunged for his staff only for Bunny to pull it away._

_¨Ya know what?¨ Bunny pushed Jack so that he fell back into the snow, ¨I don't care!¨_

_¨What?¨ Jack choked out when he recovered from the shock._

_¨Ya don't matter,¨ he gripped the staff roughly, ¨If ya did, ya would be seen. They'd believe in ya. But they don't. Ya are a nobody!¨_

_Before the teen could say anything, there was a loud crack that filled the air. Jack felt pain like part of his spirit was getting separated from the rest of him that exploded in a burst of molten water, and he let out a scream. The two halves of his precious staff were thrown in front of him as he curled up into a ball._

_¨Don't mess with mah holiday again Frost!¨ Then he was gone._

That's why he panicked about Bunny getting his staff. It's not that he didn't trust Bunny(well not completely). He just didn't know if he would take it again. Tears gathered in his ice-colored eyes, and he rocked himself until an hour later, he fell into a nightmarish sleep.

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**HA! That was fun...If I made mistakes, then oops! I don't own RotG!**

**QUESTION TIME: What is your favorite season and why?**

**Mine's WINTER because I love the snow, ice, and all. I also don't like the heat and WINTER isn't very hot out. You also get to throw snowballs depending where you live so...**

**Please review because it motivates me and I live reading them! Thanks to all of my followers, favoriters, and reviewers! I try to make my Author Notes short...so yeah! Until later!**

**~Angelicat2~**


	3. We're Doing What?

**Sorry if it takes me so long to update... I have a teacher who seems to think that me and my schoolies(schoolmates) shouldn't have much free time. So I plan on updating way more often in the summer. So on to the story! Enjoy!**

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"Where are they?" Tooth asked since it had already been half an hour after the two had ran from the room, "They should've been in here by now."

"Ve must vait," North boomed out while drinking some of his eggnog at the table.

Sandy sat on one of his clouds of golden sand, and he tilted his head towards the two. A mini Jack appeared from his sand to change to Bunny then to Jack's staff.

"Ve do not know vhy!" He shook his head sadly and stared at his drink, "Bunny run off vith Jack's staff! Ve not seen zem since!"

"What could have happened?" Tooth zipped up into the air, "What if Pitch came back and-"

'Calm down Tooth.' Sandy's sand signed above his head as he rose from close to the ground on some of his dream sand.

"Tooth!" North gently wrapped his hands on her shoulders as she floated downwards, "Nothing has happened. Zey probably just not notice ze time yet. Ze Boogeyman is not going to attack. Zey will be back just fine."

"Crikey," a voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to face the pooka. He quietly strolled past everyone to stand by the window where he just stared out. The others glanced at each other before moving towards him. A question mark found its way above Sandy's head and Bunny looked at it.

"Ya said it, Sandy," he let out a deep sigh before sitting down, "The dill fled."

"What?" Tooth almost squeaked out while hovering around in the air.

"Ve do not understand," North while spreading his bulky arms wide, "Vhy did he run?"

"Ah don't know," the big rabbit glanced up at each of them before staring out the window. "Ah had 'is staff and was messing 'round with it when he freaked out."

"How did he freak out?" Tooth's tone hardened slightly as she attempted not to glare at Bunny.

"He broke down and started rockin' back in forth." Bunny lowered his ears behind his head before continuing, "He was beggin' for it to stop."

"Vhat did he want to stop?" North somehow managed to whisper in a normal volume.

"Ah don't know," came the simple answer.

Everyone quietly began to stare off into space while thinking about what could be wrong with Jack. No one had seen him act like this. Not even when he was having a nightmare or angered.

Before long, Sandy began waving at them when he had gotten an idea. Like usual, they didn't notice him. So he quietly picked up a random hat, that was vacant of an elf, and started ringing it as loud as he could.

"Vhat?!" North quickly yelled at Sandy before actually seeing the sand lightbulb over his head, "You have idea?"

That was met with a silent nodding of his head before signs flashed over his head. They flashed from Jack to a tooth canister to many other symbols. Everyone just stared at him.

"Ya goin' too fast there, mate," Bunny stated after sighing.

Golden dream sand flew out of his ears and he silently huffed. Before anyone could do anything, he repeated the symbols more slowly. They still stared at him.

'Jack can understand my signs, but the others have problems with that. I wonder...'

Again he attempted to show them his idea. The sand formed more slowly and it took awhile to get done with. But North finally understood.

"You think ve must watch his memories so that ve might find out vhat is vrong?" That was met with an excited nod.

"Great idea, Sandy!" Tooth practically squeaked before she was off the ground and zipping through the air. "We just need to get to my palace!"

"Why would we need tah go tah you're palace?"

"That's where I keep all of the memories," when she got a look from Bunny that clearly stated 'duh', she quickly whipped around to face North. "Can we use a snow globe to get there faster?"

"Dah," North reached into one of his many pockets in his heavy jacket to produce a snow globe that was about the size of his hand. "But I must varn you. The sleigh is out of commission so ve have to travel through ze portal. It is not comfortable."

"Let's go."

"Let's find out what's wrong with 'im."

Sand shaped into a snow globe to a portal to a palace and then to snowflakes.

"Ve should go now," with that North simply shook the globe before whispering, "I say, Tooth Palace."

Throwing it out of his hand, it seemed to collapse in on itself before forming a tunnelish blob. They paused to glance at each other before North eventually walked through and the rest followed him.

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**Guh! Ok...bold wasn't working on my Kindle so I had to use my computer for this part! As you all know *glares* or should know...I don't own Rise of the Guardians! Mistakes are mine though! And I'm trying the accents! It's been fun figuring them out!(especially North's) Thanks for following and everything!**

**QUESTION TIME: What's your favorite thing about each season?**

**Me**

**Spring: The fresh breeze**

**Summer: Swimming**

**Autumn: The colorful leaves**

**Winter: Snowfall!**

**~Angelicat2~**


	4. Memory Mirrors

**I have been so lazy! So here's the next chapter of Cracks in the Ice. Enjoy! I don't own RotG!**

XXXXXXX

Have you ever been stuck inside a can with so much pressure on it that it's about to explode? No? Well, that's what riding on a portal feels like. More specifically, that's what North's magical portals feel like.

So when the Guardians (minus Jack) came through the portal that North had just opened, they were reeling. North, being the creator and sole rider of them, wasn't affected as badly; he only had a slight vertigo. Tooth seemed to be okay enough that she could still fly when they arrived even though she was obviously dizzy. Sandy was acting as if he would be mutely shouting in joy if not for the situation that had brought them there. And Bunny was hunched over as if he was going to throw up (probably carrots, you know) at any second.

"Ve must help Jack!" North began in a very loud outside voice, "Let's go!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bunny jumped (or is it hopped?) up and run over to the front of the group, "As much as we all want tah get this over with so we can figure out what's wrong, what are we going tah use."

"Vhat do you mean?" North questioned while sharing a glance with the others.

"Ah mean," the oversized bunny began waving his paw around, "ah am sure that the show pony still has his tooth canister. Remember? Tooth gave it back tah him tah keep."

"Oh." They all replied before staring at the ground of the beautiful Tooth Palace. After a few minutes, Tooth suddenly bolted upwards so quickly that the rest of them had their attention on her.

"I can't believe it!" She gasped in surprise before almost rolling her eyes, "I almost forgot about the memory mirrors."

"The what now?" Bunny questioned confused.

"Memory mirrors," she began to float to the inside when she saw the others weren't following, "come on! We should go to the room before we talk about them?"

So they all began following her after giving each other unsure glances at each other. They soon passed by the tooth canister area were all of the teeth were kept (that Pitch had stolen a little while before) and the baby tooths were zooming around putting teeth in and taking currency out to children. They didn't stop there. Soon they arrived at a blank section of what was looking like a regular wall.

Sandy signed with his sand while tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"Yeah," Bunny nodded his head while crossing his arms in front of him, "ah agree with Sandy. In case ya haven't noticed, that's a wall."

"I know," she replied before pushing on one spot of the rainbow-golden wall. A doorway slowly appeared and they all walked through. On the other side, the group (exclude Tooth and Sandy, obviously) gasped in surprise. The room seemed much bigger compared to the outside. Tree-like structures were everywhere and each leave seemed to sparkle slightly like glass. As soon as anyone drew close enough, the leaves began glowing even more and they enlarged themselves.

The Guardians saw a clover, a maple leaf, a heart, a sun, and many more mirrors and each tree seemed to hold a group of common spirits.

"Each tree holds a different set of mirrors," Tooth's voice rang through the air, "There are the elementals, which is what group Jack should be in, the holidays, and others that I really don't have time to mention at this moment."

At the center of the room was a tree with only seven leaves. Its branches were coloured in completely different colors. One was crimson with lines of forest green running through it, another was golden with a sandy quality, another bright green that faded into a multitude of colors, and the fourth branch was plain with a green tint to it and tiny flowers on it. At the trunk, bright, white, pearly wood contrasted with the withering, black bark that split the tree in half until the branches appeared. In the middle of the trunk, (and right between the white and raven bark) there was a snowflake that sent sparkling, crystal, blue lines up the trunk and to the tip of each branch.

"Vhat is zat?" North's loud voice echoed into the room as the others just stared in wonder.

"It's our tree," Tooth answered honestly before floating towards the trunk, "each color represents one of us. Red is North, gold is Sandy, bright green is mine, brown with flowers is Bunny, white is Manny, and black is-"

'Pitchner.' Sandy signed with a shadow over his head.

"What 'bout the snowflake?" Bunny asked stiffly while trying to divert attention from the mentioning of the Boogeyman. He never did like the Shadow King; especially after he had ruined Easter and set Jack up to take the blame.

"That snowflake is for Jack," Tooth sighed before looking away to a tree nearby. "The good news is that he has a place at our tree. He entered all of our lives (even Pitch's) and that's why the blue lines run through the whole tree."

'The bad news?' Sandy reluctantly signed.

"The bad news is that Jack SHOULD be in the elemental or Guardian tree. Not both."

To prove her point, Tooth flew to the very top of the tree and a leaf hung onto a bare branch grew large. It turned into a icy snowflake-like mirror. They could see Jack shouting something excitedly while being launched into the air. Suddenly, his staff was ripped out of his grasp and he went hurling to the ground. He quickly grabbed his staff and the wind caught him before he could've slammed into the floor. They looked back at their tree. All seven mirrors enlarged themselves to show a christmas tree, a sting ray, a tooth, an egg, a horse, a full moon. The most noticeable was the shepherd staff with a snowflake in the middle of the G-shaped hook.

"Vhich do ve use?"

"This one," Tooth shot to the mirror with the staff, "we have to all touch the mirror at the same time."

'On three?' Sandy questioned with a clock and number three.

"One..." everyone got into position.

"Two..." their hands were only inches away as the mirror floated to them.

"Three..." their hands reached for the mirror and snowflakes enveloped their vision before everything faded away.


	5. In Jack's Head

Whiteness blinded them. The cold that they had been feeling ever since touching the mirror disappeared along with the snowflakes in front of their vision. Slowly, a background of soft white faded into view with gentle shadows of blue mixed in. There was absolute silence, yet the ambiance of the place made it feel friendly. The group of Guardians spread out to look around.

"Something's wrong," Tooth flew around in a state of panic as the others stared curiously at her, "This should not have happened..."

"What shouldn't have happened?" Bunny asked as he stared at the fluttering fairy who didn't even pause in her muttering, "Uh...Tooth? Sheila?"

"TOOTHIANA," a loud, booming voice cut through the air when she still stayed in her trance. North immediately put his arm on her shoulder when her gaze became focused again, "Sorry Tooth, but it had to have been done."

"It's okay," she stated sheepishly as she blushed, "I shouldn't have gotten lost in my rambling."

"Speaking of ramblin', what was that about, mate?" Bunny questioned before she could continue her long-winded speech. Sandy agreed to the same inquiry with a nod of his head, and a sandy image of a question mark, mini Tooth, and snowflake mirror.

"Well," Tooth continued after smoothing down her feathers as if they were a dress, "We're not actually in Jack's memories."

"Vhat?"

"Excuse me?"

'How?'

Each of the three asked in their own individual ways. Before she could continue, the wind, which had been flowing around them, picked up speed. A flurry of white snowflakes floated towards them from out of nowhere. The hazy cloud of ice slowed down until it was right in front of the group. As it shifted, out came a human form that they knew so well, yet didn't know.

It was Jack...or, at least, they thought the figure was Jack Frost. His hair was much like usual except for the fact that it had chocolate brown swirled in it. Brown mixed in with the blue of his eyes, and when they glanced closer, they thought they saw a hint of green in them too. His skin looked very weird. It was an icy translucent shade that somehow looked a few shades tanner than normal. His clothes consisted of armor that was the same shade of blue as his hoodie and with dark brown pants without any shoes on. A cape was draped across his shoulders as if to make his whole outfit more complete. He was also wearing a crown of ice and small leaves.

"I think what Tooth was saying is that you're not watching my memories," the others stood gaping at the boy who simply smirked, "You are stuck in my head."

"What?!" They all shouted at once as they stared at the winter spirit.

Jack began to float around as he spread out his arms somewhat excitedly, "Welcome to the world of Jackson Overland Frost!"

The first to snap out of his trance was Bunny as he raised an eyebrow while looking to both sides, "Wow, no wonder ya aren't very smart. Your mind is blank."

"Nice to see you too, Kangaroo," Jack smiled as the rabbit's ears moved back and the pooka's arms were crossed over his chest with a murmur of not being a kangaroo.

"Jack, vhat is zis about?" North exclaimed as he walked up to the small Guardian of Fun.

"This is going to be tough to explain," Jack rubbed the back of his head tensely as he stared at the others, "I'm not actually your guys Jack."

Sandy signed a big question mark along with a mini Jack that split into multiple spirits of itself. Jack laughed cheerfully as he nodded his head, "You have it right, Sandman. I represent all of Jack's life. Everyone he was, I am. And so I will be your guide since I am the most organized and stable of all of us here. We have to get to the center of Jack's mind in order to leave. Let's go."

"Wait..." Tooth stood in front of the spirit, "What do you mean the most organized and stable of all of you? You should be the only one here."

"No, I am not the only one here," Jack beamed comfortably at the fairy, "There are more of Jack here. Much like how I embody his lives combined, they each are their own special area of Jack. Some might have his emotions while others will have his memories."

"But why are there so many of ya guys?" The pooka wondered out loud.

"Your Jack made us because he didn't want to be alone," Jack saw the group's flinch and reassured them, "It's not your fault that he was abandoned. He knows that and he doesn't blame you guys."

"I'm not so sure," Tooth cried out as her eyes began to sparkle, "He's been acting strangely today."

"That's not his fault," Jack's expression turned serious for the first time, "Something evil has infected his mind. We can all feel its presence here. It's slowly killing him from the inside. That's why we need to get to the center of his mind as soon as we can."

'Is it Pitch?' Sandy signed above his head.

Jack smiled sadly as he glanced at each of the Guardians before answering honestly, "No, it's someone much more dangerous."

"Who could be more dangerous zan Pitch?" North asked curiously with a tilt of his head.

"Someone from a long time ago." Before anyone could ask about his cynical answer, Jack whooped as he zipped into the air like a snowflake getting flown around in the wind. "Come on guys! No wonder Jack likes traveling with Wind. You guys are slow! We have to find Innocence now."

The group looked at each other as Jack took the lead. This was going to be a long journey. But hopefully, they could learn more about their family member named Jackson Overland Frost.

* * *

**So I found out an amazing fact today about Jack. He was actually Nightlight, the guy who watched over Man in Moon. So I'm going to use that for my plot. Hope you enjoy and review!**

**~Angelicat2~**


	6. Innocence

"So..." Bunny trailed off as the group was walking(or flying like Jack was) around the blank mindscape, "How are we findin' Innocence? This doesn't exactly look like somewhere he would hang out, mate."

Jack turned to them and paused in contemplation. The whole group resumed walking even as the winter spirit began talking, "Well, you're right. Innocence wouldn't hang out in this area. That's because this section is the entrance into Jack's mind."

'Huh?' Sandy signed above his head in confusion, 'Why would there be a blank entrance?'

Jack glanced down sadly before his smirk came back to his face as he floated upside down in front of the Guardians, "Think of Jack's mind as a maze. This is just the doorway. In different areas of the maze, there are different Jacks. So Innocense should be first to be found. He's not that far from here."

"Vhat do you mean 'should be first'?" North requested only for Jack to give them a serious expression while waving his hand in the air.

Jack hesitated while flipping upright. Shushing the rest of the curious people(and pooka) that had begun questioning him, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration, and he smiled as the rest of the group stared at him in consternation. The Guardians became stiff as the scene slowly faded into view. A forest took the place of the blank white as the blue shifted into more tangible shapes. A bluish, frost-covered tree appeared here and there in random places. A wintery ground developed under their feet, and the air grew a bit colder and smelt like when the spring just first arrives yet there's still snow out. Freshly fallen snow laid on almost everything, and it didn't look like it was melting anytime soon. The area was empty of all life it seemed like besides the whistle of the wind passing by every now and then.

The Guardians eyes were wide in wonder at such a beautiful place. They rarely ever saw any places as pure as this...to put it, this place radiated a feeling of innocence. Even North, who lived in an icy wonderland at one of the most stunning areas of the world, was amazed. Jack sighed in relief as he relaxed while grinning at those he was guiding.

"Vhat happened?" North asked as he continued to look out at the scenery.

"We passed through one of the paths that led us to Innocence's home." Jack landed onto the ground as the others gave him a raised eyebrow in return, "What? I do like the ground...sometimes."

"Jack," Tooth flew up to Jack and put her hands on both his shoulders, "What do you mean that we came through one of the paths?"

"Well," Jack nervously rubbed the back of his brown-white hair as he answered the best he could, "The paths are like corridors in a maze. We haven't gotten to it yet, but later there will be several paths that can be taken."

'Why aren't the paths like walls and a maze?' Sandy inquired curiously as the others watched Jack.

"That's because Jack is Jack," when he received a blank look from the others, he went on, "Jack is the embodiment of winter. Winter is free and flows where it needs to be even if others wish it not to. Jack feels most easy when in the open air, so his mind is not blocked with walls."

Before the others could ask any more about that, they all heard a loud cry from further within the woods. Jack's eyes shut in sharp pain before they shot open glowing an icy blue. Jack soon zoomed by the Guardians as if they weren't there, and the four that were left behind looked at one another before hurrying after the boy. When they arrived, they saw Jack leaning over a little boy. He looked just like their Jack, but he looked to only be about the age of eight or ten. The tiny kid was laying on a snow bank in a curled up position, and he was rocking back and forth even though he was on his side. Jack kneeled by the kid's side and began to soothe the poor child.

"Innocence," His voice was soft and warm like how a parent would comfort their children, "It's okay. You'll be fine. Remember what I said last time."

"Y-you always say that!" The boy stated as tears leaked down his pale cheeks before freezing as they dropped from his face.

"Come on, kiddo," the spirit pulled the kid up so that he was now standing up, "There're visitors."

Innocence began to struggle away from Jack when the teenager put him on his shoulders, "Let's play a game. It's your favorite!"

"Planes!" Innocence shouted out happily as his fears disappeared. Jack rose in the air as the little kid moved around his shoulders as if he were controlling a flying plane. Swarving passed some trees and around for a few minutes, they both came back down with laughs. Jack descended onto the snow but didn't remove the little boy from his shoulders as they both stared at the Guardians.

"Hey!" Innocence stated with a giggle until he saw Bunny. He jumped off of Jack and ran to the pooka as the wind barely caught him in time. The rabbit moved back as if frightened that Innocence would come and hit him or freeze him, but he instead got a hug around his large, furry legs.

"Bunny, hop, hop," Innocence laughed, and the rabbit recalled his favorite ankle-biter, Sophie. Getting an 'Awww' from Tooth and amused expressions from the other two Guardians, Bunny crossed his arms and scowled at them.

"Ah am not gettin' attached to this," he groaned as the kid began to jump up and down in excitement.

"Bunny, hop, hop," the stubborn child continued until the rabbit rolled his emerald eyes, and he scooped the boy up in his arms like he ordinarily did with little kids.

Jack leaned against his staff with a smirk as he stated, "Aw, you do care."

"Rack off ya bloody show pony," Bunny said amiably as the two laughed while remembering the time when Jack had first joined them to fight against Pitch.

"Jack," Innocence stated suddenly as he went back to the older version of the teen, "I don't like it."

"I know," Jack reassured with a light pat on the back as he looked back at the group, "That's why they're here."

"It's scary!" The boy continued with a sob, "I don't like it when they pick on me!"

The Guardians became alert when they heard this. North strolled to the boy, and quietly asked, "Who picks on you?"

Innocence glanced from the giant man in front of him to Jack who nodded back at him before he began, "A-all the spirits pick on me...E-everyone hates me. The summer spirits hate me because I bring winter, fall s-spirits hate me because I ruin their work, spring spirits hate me because I stay too long. Holiday spirits h-hate me because I sometimes cause it to snow on their special day."

Innocence almost started crying as he continued, "But HE scares me the most."

"Who's he?" Tooth asked only to get interrupted by an angry and worried Jack.

"Was that who just attacked you?" The snow began to pick up as the wind fiercely blew around the group. The child cried out in fear as Jack glared at him. Jack quickly realized that he was directing his anger at the wrong person so he simply hugged Innocence. "It's okay. Don't worry. He won't bother you again. Shhhh..."

Soon Innocence was calmed down enough to continue, "I-I can show you."

"You don't have to," Jack spoke up, but the kid's expression only grew determined as he said that.

"No," Innocence went on, "You need to see what happened. Jack..."

"Alright," Jack gave into the child with a stern look, "But we are quitting as soon as we watch what we need to. You know what happens to any of us if we overdo it, kiddo."

Innocence nodded before looking to the Guardians. Before they could even attempt to say anything at all, Innocence threw some snowflakes at their eyes and their vision went black. The memories had begun...


	7. Innocent Memories

The Guardians soon opened their eyes and noticed that they were in the same exact spot that they had been standing in. They were still in the forest that they had entered earlier, and every little detail was the same. The group glanced to the spot where Innocence was before the memories only to see Jack was standing by himself.

"Where is Innocence?" Tooth asked staring around at the scenery as if the boy would appear from thin air.

"He can't come with us," Jack saw the look of horror on the others' faces and he laughed lightly, "It's not like that, guys! He just has to control the memories from outside of here. That happens with all of the Jacks we will come across."

"Than what are ya doin' here with us?" Bunny asked curiously as Jack lifted a bit into the air.

"I'm your guide, remember?" Jack asked looking back at them with his brown-blue-green eyes, "Besides, I'm pretty sure you guys would be lost in Jack's mind."

"Oh," North stated with spacious eyes as the others raised their eyebrows in bewilderment. With a raised paw, Bunny's ear flicked to the side as he suddenly concentrated on some other noise that no one else could hear. Before anyone could attempt to speak again, they all soon heard the sound of a child's shriek of laughter somewhere to their right. It seemed to get louder as they listened until it was right above them. Peering upwards, they jumped back in surprise when a blur of white, blue, and brown choose to settle where they had just been standing.

"Remember," Jack started when the Guardians finally realized that Innocence was the one who just landed, "This is just a memory. We can't change anything..."

With the others about to protest or speak, the guide went back to watching what was happening. The group returned their attention back to see that the tiny child was playing with some woodland creatures. The whole picture looked much happier than when they had first arrived at the scene to find the poor kid crying. Innocence began to float on the air as a baby fox, sparrow, fawn, and snowshoe hare clustered around him. Looking closer, the white young animals were actually made from snow.

'Why are they made of snow?' Sandy asked with symbols as they watched the child get flung around while still playing with the adorable critters.

"Jack can't just conjure any object in his mind, so almost everything in a mindscape will be made with snow and such," Jack waved his arm at the trees around them, "You did notice the trees are made of frost, right?"

The others just stared at him in shock, and he got his answer.

"Wow," the spirit raised his eyebrow, "You guys are old. No offence."

The Guardians all laughed gently while remembering the first time they had met at North's place. They were about ready to ask him something when they all abruptly twirled upon hearing a shocked cry. Innocence when flying through the air before slamming into a tree as if he had just been flung. A shadow snuck its way towards the defenceless spirit. The black blur somewhat resembled nightmare sand, and the Guardians tensed while getting into battle poses.

"Vhat is Pitch doing here?" North shouted louder than any of the members had ever heard him yell.

"Woah guys!" Jack floated into the air in front of the group before they could jump into action, "First of all, this is just a memory. It has already happened. And second, it isn't-"

He got interrupted when the Guardians gasped. From within the shade came a person. If the Guardians had just seen his backside they would have assumed that it was their Jack. This Jack was a lot like theirs except he seemed quite a bit...darker. Snow-white hair was stone grey, icy azure turned dark, and the blue hoodie became relatively ebony. The thing that stopped them from thinking it was the Jack they knew was his smirk. The ominous grin, unlike any that the fun-loving spirit always wore, found its home on his lips. The teen sauntered up to the fallen boy laying on the ground.

"Silly child," the spirit's harsh chuckle burst forward as Innocence scooted back, "You thought you could escape me?"

"L-leave me a-alone!" The boy stuttered as he tried to bolt, "Y-you'll be in trouble once Jack finds out what you're doing!"

"Oh, I'm so afraid of big bad Jackie," the teen mocked as he threw the child into another tree, "He can't help you! In case you are too naive to notice, he's guiding those incompetent 'watchers of wonder, memories, hope, and dreams.'"

The Guardians flinched at hearing the venom in his voice. They all began to wonder why the teen was showing such hatred to them and the boy.

"W-what do you want!" Innocence demanded when he once again got up, "Why do you always p-pick on me? Why Darkness?"

"You, child?" Darkness inquired almost innocently as he raised his hand to his chest in fake pain, "Why would you think such a disturbing thought of me?"

"B-because you are constantly mean to me!" Innocence said with tearful eyes, "Why do you always bully me? What did I ever do to you?"

"It's nothing personal," the teen guffawed when he saw the expression on the smaller kid's face, "After all, everyone else does it...Including that precious family you claim yourself to have. You know their name; the Guardians."

"No, they-wait, what?" The child asked with a tiny bit of a sob in his throat, "T-that's not true!"

"I think you know it is," a deeper smirk came to his mouth, "They pick on you all the time."

"No, they don't," the child shouted angrily as tears slipped down turning to ice as they left his cheeks, "They're my family. Families don't hurt each other."

"Oh, but surely that's a lie," Darkness raised an eyebrow as he floated near Innocence, "How many families have you seen spending time with each other? All those nights that you were watching them from the windows. To see them huddled together by a warm, comforting fire. To see all that affection, yet your so-called family wasn't around. How about when Easter was ruined?"

"Stop it," Innocence shouted as he held his hands over his ears, "Leave me alone."

"I know you died a little every day because no one would help a little kid like you. How many wars did you witness? How many people-how many children did you see slaughtered? How many times were you wounded and crying like the little child you are after someone beat you? Where was that 'family' of yours?"

"Stop!"

"Where were they when you needed them 300 years ago?" Darkness went on convincingly, "Where were they when you got walked through? Where were they when you begged every single person who you saw to see you? Where were they when you were trying to figure out left from right?"

"Stop it!" The weeping child roared as the teen grinned wickedly. A noise drew his attention away from Innocence long enough for the boy to dart away. With an irritated growl, Darkness flew after him. The two maneuvered through the forest only for a few seconds until Innocence was knocked out of the air with a blast of ice covering his whole arm. He tortuously hurled into the powdery ground where he rolled to a stop. Rolling into a ball, he peeked out to see that Darkness was right above him.

"Just remember that, child," he began to fade into the shadows with a malicious chuckle, "No one will ever care for you!"

As soon as Darkness disappeared completely, Innocence started to cry.

The Guardians seemed torn on what to do. They appeared ready to comfort the child none of them could currently help, and they were also troubled because what had been said.

"It's true," Bunny said with ears pinned back, "Where were we? We cared more about our jobs than the little ankle-biter."

"Oh, Jack!" Tooth cried out as she held her hands worriedly to her face, "We didn't know...we should have been there."

"Guys," their guide waved his hands to get their attention, "We understand why you weren't. Jack understands why you weren't there for him."

"But-"

"No buts," Jack glared at them kindly, "This isn't what Jack would want you to do. He wouldn't want you to regret something you didn't know about!"

Sandy wove some symbols over his head. Jack laughed merrily when he got the meaning of the words the Sandman was saying, "See, Sandy agrees."

The golden man shook his head as the others loosened up some. Soon the scenery changed into a small village. The buildings were not built to last for a long time as seen by the different animal skins and thin poles that made them. The Guardians couldn't help but think that this had happened quite some time ago. Before they could question their guide, noise was hear coming from one building; two adults talking.

"Mary," a man called out to the other, "That boy is going to have to grow up!"

"I know, David!" The other, Mary shouted back calmly, "But not yet. He's only six."

"Well, kids at even that age can get killed." He stated bluntly before a sigh was heard, "Mary, I don't want to make him do it, but he'll have to."

"I know," Mary's voice quivered.

"Mary, I only want to help him," David continued quietly, "As your brother-in-law, I'm supposed to help my brother's family..."

"I know, David," the women stated shortly, "But it's only been a few months since...since..."

"I understand, Mary," his voice saddened, "It was a dark day for all of us."

"Yes, but not as bad as it was for my son!" She yelled at the man, "Jackson watched his own father die! It is one thing to find out he died, but it is another to watch it happen! I don't want to force my son to lose whatever innocence that he has left. He's just a child!"

"Mary," David calmly interrupted her before reassuring her, "I respect what you think. But we both know that if the boy doesn't learn how to defend himself and to hunt, he'll be defenseless."

The Guardians could hear a sob before more crying began as David soothed the upset woman with gentle words. The Guardians turned away from the scene to look back at the Jack that was with them. What they failed to notice was a small brunette rush away from a doorway near where the two people were now quietly talking.

"Vhat was that about?" All of the Guardians tilted their heads.

Jack just gave them a smile that never reached his eyes. Without answering their question, he turned away just as the surroundings started to fade to black.

"You'll find out eventually," He whispered softly before the whole group's senses went blank.


End file.
